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Leonardo meets high-line, or not

Originally Posted by lofter1

I think that could be really problematic (using the High Line as an access point to a commercial area that is described as very high volume).

Part of the glory of the High Line is that it is removed from the city. Of course the development of the park will change what it is now, but the High Line should not be allowed to become a "short cut" across the West Side Hiway.

Now that you mention it, Your right about the high line needing to keep its special charachter: being removed from the rest of the island.

However, hudson river park is also "removed from the city" by way of the six lane highway. I like to use the ped bridge when I am downtown by chambers street. It is no "short cut" but not to be dashing accross the highway (short timed traffic lights) is worth going the extra distance.

But, on the subject of the High Line, and it not being "linked" to the park - I agree.

Pier 57

The $250 million Leonardo 57 development project for Pier 57 in the Hudson River Park has hit a major stumbling block, as Cipriani has pulled out of a partnership with the Witkoff Group under which Cipriani would have operated a spacious upscale catering and banquet hall on the pier.

Jim Capalino, spokesperson for the Witkoff Group/Cipriani partnership, said Giuseppe Cipriani, the head of Cipriani, withdrew his company from the project for the W. 15th St. pier “within the last week.”

“He just decided he's got better uses for his capital,” Capalino said. “Just a rational business decision.” Capalino said the public process involved in redeveloping the pier simply will take too long. He predicted it will take 12 to 20 months to complete both an environmental impact assessment for the project as well as the city's uniform land use review procedure, and that the pier might not be redeveloped until three to four years from now. Meanwhile, Cipriani has several projects in Europe and the U.S. he wants to focus on, Capalino said.

“He's not a developer,” Capalino said of Cipriani. “He decided he's going to use his capital funds for projects that don't include the public approval process. Witkoff is a developer.”

There had been community concerns about the car, taxi and limo traffic the banquet hall would draw. But Capalino said that was not a deciding factor in Cipriani's withdrawal and that the traffic management plan Cipriani presented to the Hudson River Park Trust, the organization that operates the park, and the Pier 57 Working Group - a community advisory group - was well received by both.

Capalino said the public process involved in redeveloping the pier simply will take too long. He predicted it will take 12 to 20 months to complete both an environmental impact assessment for the project as well as the city's uniform land use review procedure, and that the pier might not be redeveloped until three to four years from now. Meanwhile, Cipriani has several projects in Europe and the U.S. he wants to focus on, Capalino said.

“He's not a developer,” Capalino said of Cipriani. “He decided he's going to use his capital funds for projects that don't include the public approval process."

How many additional projects do you suppose are dropped annually for this reason?

May 6, 2006 -- Banquet king Giuseppe Cipriani is abruptly backing out of his chance to run Manhattan's biggest event-and-catering site, on a Hudson River pier.
Sources said he grew impatient at the nearly one-and-a-half-year wait needed for clearing red tape and regulatory hurdles to start converting the cavernous Pier 57 at the foot of W. 15th Street into a tourist and event hub.

The pier, nearly the size of five football fields, is being transformed from a bleak parking lot for MTA buses into an upscale catering and convention location, with an expansive river park, shops, artists studios, performance space and riverview cafes.

Some community activists blasted Cipriani over the taxi and limo gridlock expected from gala events at the catering hall, tentatively dubbed Leonardo 57.

The big wharf gained notoriety during the 2004 GOP Convention when cops used it as a holding pen for protesters, dubbing it "Little Guantanamo-on-the-Hudson."

The developer spearheading the $300 million conversion project, Steve Witkoff, with partner Plaza Consultants, said he has no hard feelings and understands Cipriani's impatience over the process.

"Giuseppe Cipriani isn't a developer and he wasn't prepared to tie up his capital that he needs for other projects he's got planned elsewhere," said Jim Capalino, a spokesman for Witkoff.

"We're still going forward with the project and we're talking with other major event people to replace him," he said without identifying any prospective new partners.

Cipriani had no comment.

The prime chunk of riverfront property - controlled by the Hudson River Park Trust, a quasi-government entity - will be leased to Witkoff and his final partners in the project, which could be open in about three years.

The loss of Cipriani won't slow down the conversion, said a spokesman for the trust, which is allowing Witkoff time to find a replacement or revise his plans and go it alone if necessary.

It wasn't clear whether Cipriani's pullout would have an impact on his other partnership with Witkoff - the upscale condos they're selling at historic 55 Wall St.

Witkoff and Cipriani recently launched Cipriani Club Residences at the 1842 Greek Revival-styled building, home of the New York Stock Exchange until 1854.

Some community activists blasted Cipriani over the taxi and limo gridlock expected from gala events at the catering hall, tentatively dubbed Leonardo 57.

I swear, this city is full of too many party poopers. These people will find anything to complain about.
Do they even realize that they live in the biggest city in the U.S. and the second largest on Earth (the metropolitan area)?
I guess their idea for a city is an empty one.

It's not like there's going to be functions there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. These activists need to get with reality.

The Hudson River Park improvements in the area, specifically the widening of the bike path and the new, much narrower driveway entrance to the pier seemed contrary to the plans for the pier. The car / limo / bus factor does not relate well to this pier's location. The bus traffic was bad enough when the MTA had the pier. It would only get worse with it becoming a tourist destination. The pier itself is an eyesore.

Public review process is not something to be derided. However, there ought to be away to expedite it without diluting its impact. This area is first and foremost a public park. Cipriani is rather spoilt and is used to people cooing in his ear about how he can do no wrong. Better he is gone. This is not private property. He was part of a bid that included a public approval process. Too bad.

The Discovery 57 proposal sounds nice as well. The only one I am against is Chelsea Piers. I don't like their architecture now, and I don't like it in the rendering for pier 57. It's a big hideous blight on the river park.

I thought the Leonardo rendering was handsome, and I guess I'm an italophile so I was partial to it. I'm curious to hear any sentiments our friends Luca and Fabrizio had about this plan.
Fromhttp://www.thevillager.com/villager_...sprposals.html
"Leonardo at Pier 57 is the plan of the Cipriani restaurant group with Plaza Construction Corp. and The Witkoff Group for an Italian crafts, retail and cultural center.

The design calls for a two-story pedestrian street lined with Italian shops and crafts. High-end Italian companies are said to be ready to become part of the project and La Triennale di Milano, a museum and gallery, would establish a cultural center on the pier. Casa Sicilia, a Sicilian bureau promoting the art and products of Sicily, would be among the features. Milanostudio a fashion and photo studio in Milan, would also join the project with studios and classrooms."